Bridge construction.



N0; 885,886. PATENTED APR. 21, 1908. SHARP. BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED SLEIPT.6 1906.

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PATENTED APR. 21, 1908.

No. 885,386. V

W. SHARP. BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. e, 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER SHARP, or ELDORADO, KANsAs, ASSIGNOR TO THE WALTER SHARP BRIDGE,

COMPANY.

BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION.

Patented April 21, 1908.

Application filed September 6, 1906. Serial No. 333,546.

To all whom "it may concern: Q

Be it known that I, W LTER SHARP, af'citizen of United States of America, residing at Eldorado, in the county of Butler and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bridge Construc tion, of'which the following is a s ecification.

-tension rods.

abutment piers which My invention relates to a nove bridge con struction and has for its object the production of a bridge of simple and inex ensive composition a apted to effectually wit tand the stress exerted by overpassing loads and which by reason of its peculiar construction, and the judicious arrangement of its parts is of sufiicient strength toresist the devastating effects of floods, and'violent storms. I attain this object by the mechanism, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in the various views of which like parts are similarly designated and in which Figure 1'- re resents the side elevation of a three s an bri ge. Fig. 2 d fragmentary longitu inal section on .an enlarged scale, throu h a one span bridge or along a line 22', ig. 3. Flg. 3 a transverse section taken along a line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. 4. a plan view of the bridge drawn to a reduced scale and Fig. 5, a fra mentary sectional view, illustrating a modi ed arrangement of Referring to the drawin s, 5 des' nates the eing 0 suitable strength and stability, are erected on opiposite sldes of the water course it is desire to bridge, and which are carried upon a suitable foundation 6,. 7 r

The abutments 5, which are composed. of concrete, are connected by a plurality of parallel transverse beams 7, which support the'bridge floor 8, and the exterior beams 9,

which sustaining the floor at its lon itudinal,

outer edges, are extended above t e u per surface or roadbed of the structure to cm the sides orparapets 10 of the bridge.

Beams 7 and 9, as well as floor 8, are like the abutment piers 5, composed of concrete so that, when the entire structure is completed, the various parts of which it is composed will, by coalescence, form one solid and coherent mass.

In lon bridges (see Fig. 1) Where in addition to t e abutment piers 5, intermediate piers 11 are required to adequately support the floor, the latter are likewise composed of concrete,

and with the abutments and thetransverse beams, coalesce with the super-.

posed flooring 8.

Beams 7 and 9 are reinforced by a plurality of (parallel tension rods 12 which bein embe (led therein, inproximity to their ower edges; extend longitudinally and terminate in the abutment iers 5. Y

Rods 12, w 'ch may be of any desired shape in cross section and arranged in any suitable manner in relation to each other, should be sufficiently strong to withstand the stress exerted on the structure -by overpassing loads.

The extremities of the rods projecting into the abutments 5, may, if so desired, be bent .u wardly to extend vertically through the a utments, into the flooring-as illustrated in The floor 8 of the structure is reinforced by the horizontally disposed net Work 13, which being embedded therein, is preferably composed of two intersecting series of parallel barbed wires 14.

The reinforcement 13 extends transversely through the entire extent of the floor while its upwardly bent ends, are embedded in the sides 10, formed by the extensions of the exteriorbcams 9.

The lower surface of the flooring is oomposedof a." lurality of transversely curved arches 15 -wl 1ich, extending res ectivelv from each supporting beam to t he following, greatly increase the strength and supporting qualities of the structure by resolving th vertical pressure exerted thereon ,by overpassi'ng loads, into a series of horizontal and dia on'al thrusts.

e upper surface of the bridge floor 8 is in practice, covered with a layer 16 of gravel or analogous material to form a roadway which may readily be renewed and which protects the surface of the bridge against damage and wear.-

It will be observed that the structure as described in addition to being composed of one coherent body of reinforced concrete, is supported and arched to withstand the most severe stresses, and as such is particularly adapted for heavy travel or for use over streams where severe floods are a constant menace to the structure connecting its shores.

Havin what I c aim, is

, 1. A bridge structure comprising in comthus described my invention,

, composed o concrete or analogou'smaterial,

. parapets and mtermediate beams connecting beams,

ments and the "said parapets and upon the 'said beams,

2 sse ese bination e lurality ofcoalesced element s beams connectmg the same,

and avfloor between the said abutments, u

and lncluditig' suitably supported abutments, on the said the same, and a floor between thesaid abiit and projectin through into'the sa-id 0oz. I embedded in Ill-testimony where f I have afiixe'd my and a wire net work the saidfloor and exteriding' upwardly signature"-in'pre'senoe of two witnesses.

Q binetion, a plurality of through. the said parapets.

WALTER SHARP. 2. A bridge structure p v,

' Witnesseszi RICHARD PYLE, Jr., JESSE STEPHENSON.

comprising in cor n g coherent elements composed of concrete 01f analogous maternal and includiiag suitably supported abutments; v

and rods embedded in t e said beams the said abutments, I 

